Thursday, March 30, 2017

Key Concepts in BODYMIND by Ken Dychtwald

I learned a lot from Ken Dychtwald's book there were a lot of topics in it that I was so not familiar with. For me the key ideas and concepts are:

Bioenergetics is something I have never heard of Dychtwald describes it
"Bioenergetics is a form of psychotherapy that deals with emotional health and sickness from the perspective of psychosomatic unity."
I would like to know more about this field and if it still around or if it has been folded into Somatics.

The Body-Reading process performed by John Pierrakos is something I would like to know more about.

Rolfing is something I always wanted to try. I attempted it this week but for some reason she gave me a cranial sacral massage instead.

I have talked in 2 other posts about how much I was intrigues by BODYMIND Splits.

I like the idea of 5 Components influencing the formation of the body
1) heredity
2) physical activity and exposure
3) emotional and psychological activity and exposure
4) nutrition
5) environment

I am very interested in his reading of the body and that is what I think I will use most from this book

FEET
FLAT FEET
- ungrounded, hockey puck way of relating to the world
CLUTCHING FEET
- sometimes the tension in the feet is related to unresolved emotional crisis that involved the possibility of movement or running. people are holding their ground by squeezing their feet.
WEIGHT ON THE HEELS
- false sense of stability, and exaggerated feeling of determination to remain stable and hold control
TIPTOERS-have a hard time making contact physically or emotional with the earth. They are floaters, dreamers, artistic and imaginative
LEAD FEET
- weighted down in life, strong need to be grounded and stable, more reliable than creative

ANKLES AND KNEES- joints are psychosomatic crossroads
- grounding, stability, contact with the earth, self support, ease of movement and change, sense of ease and presence
- injuries are often about resistance to progress
- Sense of ease which we progress through our lives
- when lives are flowing our ankles and knees are flexible
- when we are stuck or conflicted our ankles and knees are rigid

LEGS
WEAK, UNDER DEVELOPED LEGS- difficulty grounding
- weakness and fragility in self-support system
MASSIVE OVER DEVELOPED LEGS- rigid personality
- person who is holding on
FAT, UNDERDEVELOPED LEGS-sluggish in the ability to move through the world, difficulty initiating action or following through
THIN, TIGHT LEGS-go getters

ABDOMINAL REGION
THE BELLY
- feeling center of the body
- emotions grow out of our guts
LOWER BACK
"Most people with lower back trouble report that they first experienced difficulty with their backs as a result of some injury or back-straining activity, such as lifting heavy heights, sitting on uncomfortable furniture, or sleeping on a too soft bed. Yet it seems to me that the back disturbannce does not begin at the time of the acute injury, but rather that the injury occurred because the muscles and emotions of the back had been chronically held and contracted for some time, thereby predisposing the area to injury.
- stuck between the withheld sexuality of the pelvis and the stored up self-assertion and anger in the upper back
- compulsive people frequently have tight muscles in the lower back
DIAPHRAGM- gateway between lower 3 chakras and upper chakras
- controls the way feelings are allowed to release themselves

CHEST CAVITY
CHEST
- a feeling focuser, amplifier and translator
- emotions, thought, reactions and expressions, mix and swirl in the chest continually changing forms and direction
LUNGS
- Bodymind organs involved in the process of breathing
- Many people breath shallowly and quickly when they are upset
- Shallow breathing can be a defense against experience feelings or feeling
THE HEART- tension in the heart indicates a chronic over-self-protection
CHEST CONTRACTION- narrow, fragile chested people
- minimal feeling and energy can flow through this region
- feelings are of emotional weakness, insecurity and depression
CHEST EXPANSION- large overdeveloped chest
- overcharge of energy and excitation
- overpowering need to appear strong and be in control
- buried tenderness and receptivity
- underdeveloped sexuality and feelings

SHOULDERS AND ARMS
SHOULDERS
- mediators between the emotions of the torso and the expressiveness of the arms and hands
BOWED ROUNDED SHOULDERS
- person sees themselves as having the weight of the world on their shoulders
- have more responsibility than they are built to handle
- overburdened by life
RAISED SHOULDERS- attitude of fear
SQUARE SHOULDERS- sense of power and ability to carry the burdens
- appearance oriented
FORWARD HUNCHED SHOULDERS- chronic attitude of self protection and fear of being hurt
- highly vulnerable
RETRACTED OR PULLED BACK SHOULDERS- person trying not to lose their temper
- annoyed by their situation in life
WEAK, UNDER DEVELOPED ARMS
- holding in energy and expression
MASSIVE, OVER DEVELOPED ARMS
- lack of sensitivity or grace
- insensitive
THIN, TIGHT ARMS- grasping, clutching, clawing person
- difficulty of holding on to things or people and sustaining relationships
- lack of focus
FAT, UNDER DEVELOPED ARMS
-- deadness or sluggishness of action
- buried within one's own body
UPPER BACK
- muscles that hold anger
- blocked feelings get deposited along the spine

NECK, THROAT AND JAW
NECK
- pedestal on which the head rests
FORWARD HEAD
- person encounters the world first with his head/rational self and later the body
- head is too great a burden for the body
DROPPED HEAD- defeat
HEAD TILT
- tilt will reflect the attitude the are experiencing or projecting
- right (Arrogance and defiance) left (Cute, playful)
LONG GRACEFUL NECK
- pride
BULL NECK
- aggression and tightness
RECEDING JAW- sadness, anger, the urge to scream or cry
PROTRUDING JAW- defiance
- determination
CLENCHED JAW- over self-control

FACE AND HEADFACE- Mask you present to the world
EARS
- hearing
- people can decide to lose their hearing when the are old because they want to withdraw and not hear it
- Ear canals maintain a sense of balance in the bodymind
EYES
- reflect the body's state of health or lack of
LARGE ROUND EYES- warm, loving personality
BULGING EYES- a lifetime of withheld expressions and sadness
NEARSIGHTEDNESS
- difficulty projecting yourself outward- traumatized eye muscles
- inwardly focused and shy
FARSIGHTEDNESS- inability to perceive and relate to things that happen up close
- want to focus away from oneself and look outward
FOREHEAD
- furrowed brow is diligence and concentration